Symi Animal Welfare News - Page 1

Autumn Report

Posted 13th January 2019

After a very long hot summer and a pleasantly warm Autumn, the much needed rain came to Symi at last and for many of us in the island's farming community it’s a vital resource which provides us with water for livestock through the summer months

Relaxing in the early evening shade

We are pleased to report that our Winter Feed Programme is all organized and the stray cats and street cats are now being fed by our SAW Volunteers at their winter feeding stations, usually by the bins, where the less fortunate cats of Symi gather when most of the tavernas have closed.
We will also be asking our volunteers to make sure there is a container to collect rain water for the cats near to every feeding station, as our cats prefer rain water to the tap water and this winter we have had a plentiful supply so far!
We would like to thank all our suppliers: Valandis Feed Merchants, Xatzipetros Supermarket, Sotiris Supermarket, and Michalis at the Pet Island Shop for their help and collaboration with SAW.

A pretty young kitten hidden away in the village

At this time of the year we know that there are lots of young cats around, the summer kittens, who must now learn to fend for themselves and find shelter when winter arrives.
Thank you to all the kind people who offered to adopt tiny rescue kittens we know that you have all fallen in love with them by now and your house is their forever home!

The ongoing vet visits and surgery continue with our two local Rhodian vets, Panayiotis and Marinos both holding surgery for neutering only on their week ends in Symi.

Cat owners of either house cats or "colony" cats are requested to make appointments when the vet visit is advertised.
SAW provides help with costs for the colony cats and covers all costs for feral and street cats.
(Colony cats are those which are fed by our volunteers on a regular basis, and are known to them, but live outside all year round.)

This is excellent news indeed for all of us who care so much about the welfare of the island's cats, and we would like to thank all our supporters for their continued generosity
which makes our winter feeding programme possible, and also the help with costs of vet surgery / neutering, plus the veterinary meds and drugs as well.

To all those kind hearted people who have made donations to SAW in 2018, a huge thank you! We feel most fortunate to have all this support out there.
Best wishes for a very Happy New Year 2019!
We send our best regards to everyone and as they say here Kalo Ximonas. Have a good winter.

from the SAW team,
Suzan, Antonella, Christina, & Hazel

Summer Report

Posted 15th August 2018

On Symi it has been a long hot summer and it still continues with every new heatwave and higher temperatures which is of course why these months are the peak time for any tourist island but we only ask that some of our visitors spare a thought for the stray cats of Symi.

This little bundle of fluff, an adorable little female, is now safely rehomed with one of our team

As we mention every season, just help them by putting a plastic container filled with fresh water in a shady spot where some thirsty feral cats will find it.
A very simple solution to all those people who ask us via our website how they can help us.

Cats on their way to Germany

For all the visitors who have asked where our SAW collection boxes are located, many shops around the port keep our boxes, including Symi Tours, Symi Silver, Blu Elena shop opposite the Kalodoukas office and TX near the Harani Bar in Yialo.
We really appreciate your contributions towards the cost of winter feed, medications and vet surgery fees for the neutering of feral and stray felines.

We are very pleased to report that this summer Symi Animal Welfare have helped three young cats, who were strays, to be adopted by visitors and are now rehomed and enjoying new lives far from Symi.

Two went to Germany, and one to the UK.

Two brothers, now rehomed in Germany

We would like to thank our wonderful vets on Rhodes, Panayiotis and Marinos, for all the care they gave these young cats and their assistance with the necessary documents and for making it all possible.

Also to the fantastic organization on Rhodes, "the Flying Cats" which arranged travel for these very lucky felines.

One little tabby male with a serious eye infection was adopted by one of our team and is now part of her cat family.

Verci

We would like to thank all of you who generously support us in our endevours and we wish you all a happy summer wherever you may be.

Best regards from the SAW team
Suzan , Antonella, Christina, Hazel, and Tove.

Spring Report

Posted 15th April 2018

On Symi island the fabulous Spring sunshine and calm seas were very welcome over the Greek holiday, as all the local businesses start to prepare for the new tourist season.

The island's felines have also been seen enjoying the warmer days and seeking out their favourite places to bask in the sun for a few hours.
Soon there will be the patter of tiny paws, with the new arrivals that this time of the year always brings.

Rufus the farm cat just loves to sit on old fishing nets - must smell nice!

The news that we announced in our winter report regarding the opening of a veterinary surgery on Symi has created much interest amongst the local population of pet lovers.

Feast of fresh fish for the lucky cats of Pitini

At present we can inform everyone that the surgery will be held at the Pet Island Shop, at the bottom of the Kali Strata steps.
Provisionally, the vet, Panayiotis Margies, will open for his weekend surgery on a monthly basis, usually on a Sunday, depending on the number of arranged appointments.

All cat owners will be able to take their pets for neutering / minor surgery on an individual basis.
SAW will take care of the needs of the feral cats and bin cats, and we will target certain areas on each occasion, to ensure that the less fortunate animals of Symi have the access the veterinary care they deserve.

Every cat has her favourite chair in the sun

At SAW we are only a small team of active members, so we would like to put out an appeal for cat lovers who feel they could act as "foster mums" to orphan kittens, as it always happens, in the Spring time, that we are
alerted to little ones who have lost their mother.

Only a few days ago, an Italian lady who lives here, and is very devoted to cats & dogs, took three little orphan kittens (of about 4 weeks) to her home to look after them until they are old enough to be independent.

The three gorgeous orphan kittens

We simply don't have enough wonderful caring people like her, so if you could help please contact one of us, as we would ideally like to have a team of foster mums
to take care of little orphan kittens when they are at their most vunerable and give them a chance of a good start in life. Thank you.

It's that Spring time feeling

This summer we will have lots of new SAW collection boxes in shops and businesses around the port and in the village.
We rely entirely on donations and all your support is very much appreciated.

As the new season begins on Symi, we look forward to seeing many of our regular vistors again and lots of new faces too!

Best wishes from the SAW team,
Suzan, Antonella, Christina, & Hazel.

Winter Report

Posted 14th February 2018

Greetings to all our friends and supporters.

A welcome treat of fresh fish for the Pitini cats

On Symi this winter has been quite a challenge for many of the island residents and for the street cat population too!

In November we had a terrible storm followed by the flood which, sadly, some of the less fortunate feral cats did not survive.
It was an awful event, like no other ever seen before on the island.
SAW were alerted to several abandoned kittens which have been fostered by one of our team.

December brought strong winds and freezing temperatures. Then in
January the island was inundated with more days of rain! But, despite all these conditions our volunteers continued to feed the street cats at their various feeding stations. Well done to you all!

Regarding our annual Winter Feed programme, we would like to
thank our suppliers, Xatzipetros Supermarket in Yialo, Sotiris Supermarket in Chorio, and Valandis Feed Merchant at Lower Kampos for their efficiency in dealing with our large order of cat biscuits and for helping us with distributing the sacks of feed too!

The total cost of the winter feed programme was over 600 Euros and our suppliers have now all been paid.
We would also like to thank all our team of volunteers who give their time to make sure our street cats have enough food to keep them going through the colder months.
We would also like to remind everyone who feeds cats that they also need a supply of fresh water which is a bit easier in the winter if the container used is replenished by rain water!

Water is always important

During these winter months the island's cats will always appreciate a dry place to shelter from cold winds and rain
So, it really doesn’t take much in the way of DIY skills to make a cat box that will keep them warm and dry. On the subject of visiting vets, we are very fortunate to have two vets from Rodos who are on the island every two weeks now, at the Pet Island shop in Yialo.

In 2018 we look forward to the possibility of a small vet surgery becoming a reality here, but it’s still at the planning stage at the time of this report.
Finally we would like to say a huge thank you to all our loyal supporters who make it possible for us to continue to care for the street cats of Symi!

Best wishes to you all!
We look forward to seeing you again this summer,
from Suzan, Antonella, Christina, Hazel & Tove.

Autumn Report

Posted 5th November 2017

On Symi, the sunny warm days of October are over and we welcome the rain, which has come at last and is much needed on our dry island!
The street cats seek shelter wherever they can find any. As we all know, cats don’t like to get wet!

Now that most of the visitors are gone and only a few tavernas remain open the stray cats usually go back to the local rubbish bins in their area in search of any food they may find.

The good news for our island cats is that the Winter Feed Programme has already been organised.

The orders for the sacks of dry feed is with our suppliers now, so before mid November the teams of volunteers will be feeding the cats at the allocated feeding stations in Yialo, Chorio, Pedi, Nimborio and in the mountains at Kato Meria.

This year SAW will be providing cat biscuits only, in accordance with veterinary advice and this will allow us to spend more of our annual budget on the cat neutering programme.
We will also be asking our volunteers to make sure there is a supply of fresh water for the cats near to the feeding station as this is always important, winter and summer.

At this time of the year we know that there are lots of young cats around, the ’summer born’ kittens, who must now learn to fend for themselves and find shelter too when the cold weather arrives.

In recent weeks we have been frequently asked about such kittens via our web-site by kind visitors who had been feeding them near to their tourist accommodation.

At SAW, we do try to follow up on all the reports we receive but we find that these young street cats quickly adapt to the fact that the visitors have gone and they re-locate to an area near the bins which will become a feeding station for all the cats in that area.

You may have read on FaceBook recently the story of the little stray dog Billy, who had an accident and was treated in Rodos by our 'island vet', Panayiotis Margies.
My colleague Antonella put some really nice posts and photos
on the network to keep everyone up to date with his progress and we are happy to say that Billy is now back here on Symi and being cared for by Josie and Jordan for the next month.
Billy is a sweet affectionate little dog and deserves to find a forever home on Symi with a caring person.

SAW would like to thank all those very kind and generous people who donated towards his veterinary treatment and after care (210 Euros was raised in total) and SAW will contribute towards his welfare until he is fully recovered.

Regarding the SAW collection boxes, we are pleased to announce that the Sunrise Cafeneion box donation total was 240.00 Euros and The Olive Tree total was 80.00 Euros. (both in Chorio) while at The Symi Silver shop in Yialo the total was 73.00 Euros!

We would like to thank all those kind hearted people who contributed to our cause, your generosity will ensure that we can continue with our work to help the less fortunate animals of Symi.

We send our best regards to everyone and as they say here
Kalo Ximonas! Have a good winter!
from the SAW team,
Suzan, Antonella, Christina, Hazel and Tove.

Summer Report

Posted 2nd August 2017

On Symi the high temperatures have been with us for 2 months now and most of our felines prefer to seek shade during the day, except for the usual cats who frequent the port tavernas at lunch time, looking for kind tourists to give them some tasty morsels.

More of the island's street cats venture out after dark, taking advantage of the cooler temperatures in the evenings and go in search of something to eat.

While food is more plentiful during the summer months, we always remind our residents and visitors that water is so important for all the island cats and that the best way to help them is to provide a container of clean fresh water on a daily basis, in a shady spot perhaps near to any rubbish bins and you will see how many cats come just for a drink every evening.

Recently we have had some reports of 'abandoned' kittens, which often happens at this time of the year and we do advise that they are left where found as usually the mother cat will return to her litter and she knows where she left them!

We are a small team, but we will always try to help where we can, especially if the kittens have been deliberately left near or in the bins, (yes, sadly it happens) and we will try to find foster homes for them until they are old enough to fend for themselves.

There is no animal shelter on Symi, and our resources are limited and all of us on the team have acted as 'foster mums' to many tiny kittens over the years.
If we have reports of a sick or injured cat we will go to see if we can catch it first, only then can it be treated and helped to recover from its aliment.
Wild or feral cats can be very wary and extremely difficult to capture even when tempted by a tin of tasty sardines!

As always, from the start of the season we have received via our SAW website quite a few emails and this year more have been on the subject of dogs.
Visitors have reported that they have seen dogs kept on a chain. They have told us of dogs who are thin, or not in good condition or that there wasn't any food/water visible etc.
We do know about most of these dogs, we know who owns them and, if we don't we can easily find out, but the most we can do is to speak with the owners and alert them to the fact that their dog has been seen by visitors and that its situation could be a cause for concern. Where we think the dog should be seen by a vet, then we will advise the owner accordingly. As there is a vet who visits from Rodos every four weeks, it is then up to the owner to take the dog for treatment or a check up.

We are not the RSPCA and unfortunately we cannot do more for any dog who is kept outside, as a guard dog, or a farm dog, and is not a family pet!
On a more positive note, many young island people now own dogs as pets, they love them, and do take good care of them, so attitudes are slowly changing.

We are pleased to report that our Rhodian vet often has a very busy time on his Sunday morning consultations held at 'Pet Island' shop in Yialo, so one of our projects for the future is to secure a premises that could be used for regular vet visits to Symi which would be a great advantage for all of us who care for the island animals.

If any local person has a suitable place in the Yialo area then please contact us at SAW.

Wishing all our friends and supporters a very happy summer!

Best regards from Suzan, Antonella, Christina, Tove and Hazel.

Spring Report

Posted 23rd March 2017

It's Spring time on Symi, with glorious sunny days and calm seas. The island has emerged from its usual winter 'hibernation' and the port is suddenly a hive of activity as the locals prepare for the new season. So, it was a perfect time for us to organize a vet visit, with lots of street cats now out and about in the sunshine.

A peek into the surgery

We arranged for our favourite Rodos vet to come over for a weekend, and' set up' in the house that we use at the back of the port which is in an ideal location, very quiet but with easy access. We are indeed very fortunate to have use of this private villa for the vet visits and would like to thank the owner for his
generosity.

The vet, Panayiotis, was assisted by his lovely wife Maria, as the veterinary nurse and we had a very capable and enthusiastic group of helpers to assist the SAW team. There was much to be done, in only two days and both Saturday and Sunday were quite intensive!

Steriliser

The target was for thirty five cats, but we are pleased to report that a total of thirty eight cats were neutered, fourteen males and twenty eight females, and that two male feral cats were euthanized as they tested positive for feline HIV.

The vet brings his own equipment and drugs, but this time one process was made easier as we have acquired a new sterilization machine, kindly donated from a clinic in Germany!

A patient waiting

We would like to thank all the cat 'carers' and 'catchers' who gave donations for the vet visit, and the helpers and volunteers who gave up their time to assist us.

Most of all we would like to thank Panayiotis and Maria for their tremendous hard work and dedication which made this vet visit a great success.

In recovery

A formal report on our Cat Neutering Programme has been submitted to the Greek Cat Welfare Society , with a request for funding towards future vet visits.

This summer SAW will have lots of new collection boxes in many businesses around the harbour and in Chorio.
We rely entirely upon donations and all your support is very much appreciated.

We look forward to seeing many of our regular visitors again this summer on Symi, and lots of new faces too!

The next day and we are feeling fine!

Best wishes from the SAW Team, Suzan, Antonella, Christina, Hazel and Tove.

Winter Report

Posted 12th February 2017

Greetings to all our friends and supporters!

On our small island the festive season was celebrated fairly quietly but we can be sure that the street cats did enjoy some tasty leftovers from Xmas dinners and the traditional New Year feasts!

Regarding our annual Winter Feed Programme, we would like to thank our suppliers, Xatzipetros Supermarket, in Yialo, Sotiris Supermarket in Chorio and Valandis Feed Merchant at Lower Kampos for their efficiency in dealing with our large order, and for helping us with distribution of the cat foods too!

The total cost of the Winter Feed Programme was 1,450 Euros and our suppliers have now all been paid.
We would also like to thank all our volunteers who give their time to make sure our street cats have enough food to keep them going through the colder months.

November and December were fairly mild, but January brought lots of rain and storms. February too has seen days of drizzle and grey skies.
During these winter months the island's cats have to look for some dry places to shelter in, anywhere will do when it's wet and cold.

It's quite easy to provide them with ‘’home made’’ shelters, items such as an old wooden box, or a discarded small chest of drawers make ideal ‘cat houses’ and only need a little fixing to make a perfect shelter Raised off the ground out of the wet, with a plastic cover to keep it dry, and newspaper inside to make a snug, dry den for 3 or 4 cats! Your street cats will really appreciate it .

Finally we would like to say a huge thank you to all our loyal supporters whose donations make it possible for us to continue to care for the street cats of Symi!

Best wishes to you all!
We look forward to seeing you again in 2107.

From Suzan, Antonella, Christina, Hazel and Tove.

December vet visit

Posted 16th December 2016

After more than a year without any vet visit to Symi, we are very pleased to report on a recent visit by a vet from Rodos for 3 days here.

We have arranged with Panayiotis Margies a new programme, for cat neutering only, during the winter months, and we are delighted to inform all our friends and supporters that all went very well on this first visit.
This was organised entirely by our small team (just 3 of us !) and only funded by SAW, with no other financial help from GAWF.

This visit was made possible due to the fact that we have been given use of a house in the port area, kindly offered to us by the German owner. Ideally situated at the back of Yialo, but with easy access from the street, most important for those bringing 'cats in boxes '!

The target area on this occasion was the port, Yialo and Harani, next time it will be the Chorio area.

Panayiotis was assisted in the surgery by his lovely new bride, Maria, who is actually a (human) nurse, and we recruited additional help from our small team of volunteers.
Over the 3 days of the surgery 35 cats were neutered, 22 females and 13 males, including some feral toms from the port area! Unfortunately one male cat had to be euthanized, as it tested positive for feline 'aids'.
The vet also operated on a female with a large tumour which was successfully removed.

Panayiotis and Maria worked long hours with much dedication to achieve these results, and we would like to thank them and also everyone who came to help for the 3 days at the surgery.

This type of vet visit is not part of any out-reach programme, but we hope to be able to finance it with the help of our generous supporters and will be organising another in early 2017.
Well done everyone!

Finally, with the festive season soon upon us, we would like to wish all our friends and supporters a very Happy Xmas and all the best for the New Year!

From the SAW team, Suzan, Antonella, and Christina.

Autumn Report

Posted 24th July 2016

After a very long hot summer the cooler days are now most welcome on our island and the Symi cats can be seen out and about enjoying the Autumn sunshine.
Now that the summer visitors are gone and most tavernas have closed the street cats usually go back to the local rubbish bins in their area in search of any leftovers and tit-bits that they may find there.

The good news for our island cats is that the Winter Feed Programme has already been organised. The orders for the tins, biscuits and pasta are with our suppliers now so before mid November the teams of volunteers will be feeding the cats at the allocated feeding stations in Yialo, Chorio, Nimborio and in the mountains at Kato Meria.

We will also be asking our volunteers to make sure there is a supply of fresh water for the cats near to the feeding station, as we are still waiting for some much needed rain!

At this time of the year we know that there are lots of young cats around, the summer kittens, who must now learn to fend for themselves and find shelter too when winter arrives.

In recent months we have been frequently asked about a vet visit to Symi, so we are very pleased to announce that we now have a property suitable for surgery use, kindly offered to us by a house owner who only spends the summer here.

Our contacts at the Cat Charity '9 Lives' are now looking to organise a vet visit for early 2017.
This is excellent news indeed for all of us who care so much about the welfare of the islands' cats, and we would like to thank all our supporters for their continued generosity which makes our winter feeding programme and a future vet visit, possible. To all those kind hearted people who have made donations to SAW in 2016 a huge thank you!

We are pleased to mention that we now have a SAW collection box in the UK, on a mobile food trailer owned and run by a lovely couple, Wendy and Bob Beever, who met with me this summer on Symi and suggested the idea.
The name of their trailer is "It' s all Greek to me!" and they just raised the first 100 Euros for us, fantastic! Thank you so much!
We feel most fortunate to have all this support out there.

We send our best regards to everyone and as they say here, Kalo Ximonas!

Have a good winter! From the SAW team

Suzan, Antonella, Christina, Hazel and Tove.

Summer Report

Posted 24th July 2016

On Symi the heatwave has been relentless since early June and in these high temperatures the island cats prefer to find a shady place to sleep during the day, venturing out after the sun goes down,
around 8.00pm, to hunt for food in their habitual feeding places, hoping for some tasty scraps from kind tourists dining at the local tavernas, and the less fortunate cats are usually seen around the bins area in the port and the village.

Although food is easier to find in the summer months, the cats' appetite is often reduced by the heat, so many of them appear thin, but that's normal at this time of the year.

However, all cats need to drink, and we would like to remind all our friends and visitors that it is very easy to help the island cats by providing, in your area, a plastic container of water for them, in a shady place, and you will see how they come to enjoy a refreshing drink, and give you a thankful look!

Any plastic receptacle will do, perhaps a empty ice cream or margarine container? and one of the best is the (cut off) bottom part of a 10 litre water container, that makes a really good size bowl!

We would like to remind everyone that we will continue to promote and fund the feline neutering programme that we already have arranged with two vets in Rodos Any island resident who wants to take their cats over for neutering should first contact Suzan or Antonella at SAW.

Finally, as we rely entirely on donations we would like to thank all our supporters for their generous donations to SAW in 2016.

Best wishes and happy summer from the SAW Team,

Suzan, Antonella, Christina, Hazel and Tove.

INFORMATION for residents & visitors

Posted 21st May 2016

The new tourist season has finally arrived which means that most of us are working or certainly committed to one thing or another for the next five months.

The care of our island’s animals isn’t simply a seasonal responsibility however, with limited time and manpower, may we offer you some useful information:

There is now a pet shop on Symi, located at the bottom of the Kali Strata. Michaeli the owner is extremely helpful and has built up a small stock of animal accessories and general medications including flea and worming treatments. His telephone number is 0030 22460 71469. He works in close liaison with Panayiotis Margies, a vet from Rhodes.

Panayiotis visits the island once a month, for consultations and examinations only when a small charge is made. Unfortunately, he is unable to neuter animals or perform surgical procedures as he’s only here for one day, but the fact that we have a regular vet-visit is indeed great progress.

Symi Animal Welfare continue the arrangement with another Rhodes vet Marika Ioannidou. Carers can take a cat across to her surgery on Rhodes; as long as the appointment is arranged through Suzan, the cost of neutering will be covered by Symi Animal Welfare but not ferry/taxi fares or personal expenses. Suzan’s number is 6981356421

Spring Report

Posted 12th April 2016

After a very dry winter in the South Aegean, the early Spring weather has been warm and sunny so the island's feline population has fared very well during this mild winter, with so little rainfall that we have had to place water containers out for the cats near to the feeding stations to ensure that they have enough to drink with their food!
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the S.A.W. volunteers for their efforts and the time they have given to help with our winter feed programme over the last 5 months.
If any new residents on the island would like to help us for next winter then please contact Suzan or Antonella, we are always looking for enthusiastic volunteers!

The WFP is our highest annual expense, in November 2015 the total order
for the cat food supplies cost 1,450 Euros A huge thank you to all our generous supporters from many countries whose donations make it possible for us to continue with our task of helping the Symi cats to have a better life.

Regarding a vet visit for this year, we are at present looking for new premises which would be suitable for this purpose.
We would prefer the location to be in the port area, which is where we are searching for a property with the help of some Symi locals, as it is essential to have a place first that is approved by a vet and by the Symi Town Hall Authority before the animal charity we work with in Greece,(9 Lives) can offer us a vet visit, hopefully for the Autumn this year.

We continue to have a special arrangement with one of the Rhodes vets for cat neutering and we can assist any island resident who wishes to take up this offer all they have to do is contact us first and we will set it up with the veterinary.
In the Spring we know we will soon hear the patter of tiny paws so we would like to remind everyone that new kittens should not be taken from where their mother has left them, she has not abandoned her litter, and will soon return to feed her babies.

Well, it will be Greek Easter soon, (or Pasxa ) which this year is the first week in May, the most important religious holiday here and, as the island gears up for another new season, everyone is busy sprucing up the place, painting and decorating, and many residents returning from a winter away. The Symi cats are looking forward to the opening of tavernas and restaurants and the arrival of the early season tourists as that means more food scraps for all our feral felines.

We hope to see many of you this year on Symi.

Wishing everyone a very Happy Greek Easter, Kalo Pasxa!

from the SAW Team, Suzan, Antonella, Tove, and Hazel.

A Tribute to Kamberis

Posted 12th April 2016

This month we are very sad to announce the passing of a very special dog. His name was Kamberis, he was our farm dog, he had been trained to work with sheep and goats, tireless and obedient, always ready and listening for that one whistle to call him into action.
He knew every goat that belonged on the farm and would drive away any huge male "foreign" goats if they invaded his territory.

He was our best help on the farm and only those who own working dogs can understand how lost we feel without him.
He was so gentle and caring with all the small and vulnerable, from tiny kittens to baby orphan lambs and goats and best friend to our 6 farm cats.
He was our guardian and loyal friend, he is irreplaceable on our farm and in our hearts, Sadly, he died from poisoning from an unknown source. Despite veterinary advice and medicine we could not save him. His grave is on the farm, under the pine trees overlooking the Aegean Sea. He would have been 7 years old in August.

He was the best dog that we could ever own, taken from us so suddenly.
We will remember him forever.